The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apricot tree, known botanically as Prunus armeniaca L., which has been given the variety denomination ‘Twocot’, as herein described and illustrated.
The new variety is a result of controlled pollination, conducted by the inventor in Fresno, Calif. The objective of the planned hybridization was to develop a new P. armeniaca variety having firm white flesh that would tolerate commercial manipulation during harvest and organoleptic qualities that would satisfy consumers.
The new P. armeniaca variety originated in 1994 when pollen from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) apricot selection P301-110 (unpatented) was applied to the unpatented seed parent New Jersey Apricot Selection No. 73 (NJA 73). Seedlings from this planned hybridization were planted at the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Parlier, Calif. The new variety ‘Twocot’ was discovered and selected by the inventor in 1998 as a promising seedling tree based on overall fruit quality and productivity.
The new P. armeniaca ‘Twocot’ was first asexually propagated in January 1999 by dormant grafting onto ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) peach seedling rootstocks. ‘Twocot’ has also been asexually reproduced by ‘June-budding’ of actively growing vegetative buds. Trees obtained from both methods of asexual reproduction have now produced numerous fruit crops. ‘Twocot’ reproduces true to type in that its unique combination of characteristics described herein remains stable and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.